Glen and Stewart set for Hearts exit

STEN 12-12-11 sport splash GARY GLEN and Jonathan Stewart are the latest Hearts players who will be allowed to leave Tynecastle for free next month if they can find another club. Both are out of contract next June and can move on as part of cost-cutting measures.

Hearts are keen to sell as many players as possible during the January transfer window and also want to dispense with fringe men who are not part of manager Paulo Sergio’s first-team squad. Glen and Stewart, both 21, fall into the latter category having failed to make a competitive appearance this season.

Calum Elliot and Jason Thomson have already been told they are surplus to requirements, while goalkeeper Janos Balogh agreed an early termination of his contract last week.

Hearts are keen to retain those who harbour sell-on potential and have held initial talks about extending the contracts of a select few players. Eggert Jonsson, Marian Kello, Ryan Stevenson, Andy Driver and Jamie MacDonald have all discussed extensions but, with wages still unpaid from November, no-one has been willing to sign a new deal as yet.

Should the financial problems continue and wages remain unpaid, a group of senior players intend to cancel their contracts and walk out of Tynecastle for free on January 14.

That date marks 90 days since Hearts failed to pay salaries on time back in October and would be in line with guidelines surrounding article 14 of FIFA’s statutes on terminating a contract with just cause.

Many within the squad feel waiting 90 days will ensure FIFA are on their side pending any legal ramifications, although some players are unwilling to walk out for fear of retribution from majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.